Thumbnails (MCP)

Quick generate → retrieve

1. vidseeds_get_seed_balance (free).
2. vidseeds_generate_thumbnail → jobId, expectedCostSeeds; poll vidseeds_get_thumbnail_job every ~3s (~70–100s typical). Price per image uses model-specific seeds (Gemini 7, OpenAI 11, Grok 3); see get_seed_balance.
3. vidseeds_get_thumbnail or vidseeds_list_thumbnails for URLs/ids.
4. Optional: vidseeds_download_thumbnail_bundle for a packaged download.

Edit pricing (2026-06 correct): vidseeds_edit_thumbnail (and restyle) charges model-specific seeds; edits that reference an input image cost more than pure generation (input + output). Check vidseeds_get_seed_balance for current per-model rates before calling. Always confirm with user.

Edit or restyle an existing thumbnail

• vidseeds_edit_thumbnail - chat-style edit (async job; poll per tool response).
• vidseeds_restyle_thumbnail - style transfer on an existing asset.

Attach to a project

• vidseeds_apply_thumbnail_to_project with projectId and the generated thumbnail id.

Publish thumbnail to YouTube

• vidseeds_publish_thumbnail_to_youtube when the video is on a connected channel (see vidseeds-publishing for connections).
• Bulk YouTube limit: YouTube rate-limits custom-thumbnail uploads separately from VidSeeds.ai seeds/MCP quota. For bulk replacements, plan no more than about 100 thumbnail uploads per connected YouTube channel/account per rolling 24 hours. If YouTube returns uploadRateLimitExceeded / "too many thumbnails recently", stop the batch, persist the next video id, and resume later.

Thumbnail Studio (research → brief → generate)

Use when you want data-informed creative direction:

Step	Tool
Trends in niche	vidseeds_get_thumbnail_trends
Niche detection	vidseeds_detect_thumbnail_niche
Frame analysis (from video refs)	vidseeds_analyze_thumbnail_frames, vidseeds_select_best_thumbnail_frame
Creative brief	vidseeds_build_thumbnail_brief
Subject ideas	vidseeds_suggest_thumbnail_subjects
Overlay copy options	vidseeds_generate_thumbnail_overlay_texts
Style profiles	vidseeds_get_thumbnail_style_profiles, vidseeds_save_thumbnail_style_profile
Visual audit / CTR sim	vidseeds_audit_thumbnail_visual, vidseeds_simulate_ctr
Custom upload	vidseeds_upload_custom_thumbnail

Then run vidseeds_generate_thumbnail (or from-video flow below) with prompts/refs from the brief.

Local source video (file on disk only)

The hosted server cannot read the user's filesystem.

1. Configure vidseeds-local stdio MCP (see plugin README; env VIDSEEDS_API_KEY or PAT).
2. vidseeds_generate_thumbnail_from_video on the local server - probes/transcribes/extracts frames locally, then calls the hosted pipeline.

Alternatively, extract frames locally with vidseeds_extract_video_frames (see vidseeds-local-video) and pass base64 frames into vidseeds_generate_thumbnail.

From an existing YouTube video (hosted)

• vidseeds_generate_thumbnail_from_video (hosted) when the video is addressable via allowed CDN URLs / account-owned assets - check tool description for inputs.

Learning / preferences

• vidseeds_record_thumbnail_preference, vidseeds_get_thumbnail_learning_status - optional feedback loop for repeat creators.